5 times in 20 months, Sisi meets reps from Zionist groups

Mada Masr
Sisi meets reps from US-based Zionist groups 5 times in 20 months

Sunday - February 19, 2017

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with representatives from US-based pro-Israel organizations in Cairo on Sunday, for the fifth time in 20 months.

A delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which includes several groups supporting the Israeli military and self-professed Zionist organizations based in the United States, visited Cairo to discuss a number of issues with President Sisi, according to statements issued by the presidency that were published in Egyptian newspapers.

Sisi first met with a number of similar groups in Cairo in July 2015, followed by meetings in February and December 2016, and more meetings on the sidelines of the 71st United Nations General Assembly session in September 2016 in New York.

Sunday’s meeting included discussions on regional developments, including the situations in Libya and Syria, according to several Egyptian media outlets, as well as a review of counter-terrorism measures and efforts to prevent the funding of militant organizations in the region.

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (AIPAC) includes the following groups: The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), the Zionist Organization of the Conservative Movement (MERCAZ USA), Religious Zionists of America (RZA) and the American Friends of the Likud (AFLikud).

AIPAC describes itself as America’s bipartisan lobby to support Israel, while the FIDF advocates educational and training initiatives for Israeli military personnel, along with the provision of material assistance for Israel’s troops, support for Israeli widows and orphans and medical assistance for wounded members of the Israeli Defense Forces.

The ZOA describes itself as a group that promotes Jewish identity in Israel and other occupied Arab territories and helps prepare new generations of Israeli leaders.

ARZA works to provide material support to its partner organizations in Israel, along with promoting travel and tourism to the occupied territories, while MERCAZ USA promotes unity among Jews worldwide, with Jerusalem as the capital of the “homeland.”

In February 2016, AIPAC issued a statement after meeting with Sisi that said the two-hour meeting covered a wide range of domestic and international issues, including Egypt’s relations with the US and Israel, regional threats, especially those posed by terrorist organizations and their supporters, and Iran.

“The Jewish leaders said that they had an open and very productive discussion and that they were impressed by the President’s analysis on a wide variety of issues,” the statement added.

In December 2016, Egypt’s Minister of Defense Sedky Sobhy and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry joined Sisi in meeting the American Jewish Committee (AJC). 

According to a statement issued by the AJC, they “conferred with President Sisi and senior Egyptian officials on the importance of strengthening US-Egyptian ties and the mutual benefits of increasingly close strategic cooperation between Egypt and Israel.”

Egypt diplomat calls sub-Saharan Africans 'dogs & slaves'

REUTERS
African envoys say Egyptian called sub-Saharan Africa 'dogs and slaves'

Tue May 31, 2016


George Obulutsa and Lin Noueihed 

Egypt has become embroiled in a dispute with African diplomats after they accused an Egyptian official of referring to "dogs and slaves" in remarks about sub-Saharan Africa at a United Nations conference in Nairobi.

The diplomats sent a formal complaint to Kenya's foreign ministry after the alleged remark at the U.N. Environmental Assembly last week, Yvonne Khamati, chairwoman of the African Diplomatic Corps Technical Committee, said on Tuesday.

Egypt's foreign ministry said it had no evidence of any such remarks by a Cairo official and would investigate, adding that it rejected "flimsy accusations against the Egyptian state and people that cast doubt on its African identity."

Khamati, a Kenyan diplomat who wrote the letter, said the remark was made following a disagreement on resolutions involving Gaza.

"During our consultations with Egypt, the head of the Egyptian delegation and current President of AMCEN dismissed our concerns by informing that they would speak in their sovereign capacity and to that extent, referred to Sub-Saharan Africa as DOGS AND SLAVES, in Arabic," said the letter dated May 29.

The term AMCEN in the letter, which has been circulated widely on social media, refers to the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment.

In its statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said: "It is completely unacceptable to make the mistake of generalizing and making flimsy accusations against the Egyptian state and people that cast doubt on its African identity."

It asked Cairo's embassy in Nairobi to "a strongly worded statement ... expressing Egypt’s rejection and censure for this breach of authority" by Khamati and demanded to see the official minutes of the meeting.

The incident looked likely to add to tensions Egypt has had with its sub-Saharan neighbors, with which it has been at odds in the past over how River Nile waters should be shared by the countries it passes through.


*Photo courtesy of UNEA